Nick Wechsler previews 'Revenge' return: Will Jack go down a 'dark road' to protect his family?

For a brief moment on ABC’s Revenge, Nick Wechsler (pictured, far right) says his character Jack was happier than he’s ever been. He had a new baby, a woman with whom he was beginning to fall back in love, and finally had a direction in life. But as his father’s past begins to catch up with his sons, Wechsler says happy times might be over.

“I think he’s gone another place entirely — he’s thinking darker thoughts,” says Wechsler, whose show returns tonight with new episodes. “I think he’s always going to try to find the most legal and moral way out of things, but if forced, I think he might go darker. But we’ll see what they have in store.”

Exactly what is in store? Well, even though Jack will try to keep his family out of the loop when it comes to the looming threat from the Ryan brothers (who in the last episode left a man for dead after brutally beating him), he won’t be able to do so for very long, says Wechsler. “The Ryans pull some s–t with Jack and it gets him into some trouble. Then he can no longer hide what he’s been dealing with from the family,” he says.

But will that knowledge put his family — Amanda and baby Carl — in more danger? You can probably bet on it. That said, Wechsler says that up to their current point in filming, “Jack doesn’t get to go too far down a dark road” but with the Ryan brothers unafraid of launching a very personal attack, Jack “is more capable than ever of doing something unlike Jack.”

“He always had Declan to protect, but [having a baby] — a defenseless, innocent, beautiful creature — might inspire more violence,” he says. “When this stuff comes up — when someone is there threatening his family — he thinks, ‘Threaten me all you want, I’ll take it. But you threaten my family, if you get too close, I will strike.'”

Meanwhile, tonight’s episode will also find Victoria reaching out to Emily for help on a new, grand plan. And, in what may or may not be part of that scheme, Emily will also find herself making a major decision when it comes to her relationship with Aiden. For an EW exclusive sneak peek at that, click here.